Detection of Dimethyl Ether in the Central Region of the MWC 480 Protoplanetary Disk

TL;DR

This study reports the first detection of dimethyl ether in a non-transitional protoplanetary disk, revealing insights into complex organic molecule chemistry during planet formation.

Contribution

It provides the first detection of CH$_3$OCH$_3$ in a non-transitional Class II disk and analyzes its implications for chemical reprocessing in the disk.

Findings

Detection of CH$_3$OCH$_3$ in MWC 480 disk.

High CH$_3$OCH$_3$/CH$_3$OH ratio suggests chemical reprocessing.

COMs likely sublimated in the warm inner disk.

Abstract

Characterizing the chemistry of complex organic molecules (COMs) at the epoch of planet formation provides insights into the chemical evolution of the interstellar medium (ISM) and the origin of organic materials in our Solar System. We report a detection of dimethyl ether (CH$_3$OCH$_3$) in the disk around the Herbig Ae star MWC 480 with the sensitive Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations. This is the first detection of CH$_3$OCH$_3$ in a non-transitional Class II disk. The spatially unresolved, compact (${\lesssim}$25 au in radius) nature, the broad line width ($\sim$30 km s$^{-1}$), and the high excitation temperature (${\sim}$200 K) indicate sublimation of COMs in the warm inner disk. Despite the detection of CH$_3$OCH$_3$, methanol (CH$_3$OH), the most abundant COM in the ISM, has not been detected, from which we constrain the column density ratio of CH$_3$OCH$_3$/CH$_3$OH ${\gtrsim}$7. This high ratio may indicate the reprocessing of COMs during the disk phase, as well as the effect of the physical structure in the inner disk. We also find that this ratio is higher than in COM-rich transition disks recently discovered. This may indicate that, in the full disk of MWC 480, COMs have experienced substantial chemical reprocessing in the innermost region, while the COM emission in the transition disks predominantly traces the inherited ice sublimating at the dust cavity edge located at larger radii (${\gtrsim}$20 au).